In a silver halide photographic material, a photographic emulsion layer and another hydrophilic layer are frequently colored for the purpose of allowing them to absorb light within a particular wavelength region.
When it is necessary to control spectral composition of light to enter a photographic emulsion layer, a colored layer is usually formed on the side farther apart from a support than the photographic emulsion layer. Such a colored layer is called a filter layer. When the photographic material has a plurality of photographic emulsion layers, the filter layer is sometimes located therebetween.
For the purpose of preventing blurs of images, namely halation, caused by that light scattered on passage through the photographic emulsion layer or after passage therethrough is reflected from the interface of the emulsion layer and the support or from a surface of the photographic material on the side opposite to the emulsion layer, followed by entering the photographic emulsion layer again, a colored layer called an antihalation layer is provided between the photographic emulsion layer and the support, or on a surface of the support on the side opposite to the photographic emulsion layer. When the photographic material has a plurality of photographic emulsion layers, the antihalation layer is sometimes located therebetween.
In order to prevent a reduction in image sharpness due to scattering of light in the photographic emulsion layer (this phenomenon is generally called "irradiation"), the photographic emulsion layer is colored in some cases.
These hydrophilic colloidal layers to be colored are generally allowed to contain dyes. It is necessary for the dyes to meet the following requirements:
(1) They have proper spectral absorption depending upon their purpose of use; PA1 (2) They are photochemically inactive. Namely, they have no adverse effects on the properties of the silver halide photographic emulsion layers in the chemical sense, such as a reduction in sensitivity, latent image fading and fogging; PA1 (3) They are decolorized during photographic processing stages, or eluted in processing solutions or washing water to leave no harmful coloring in the photographic materials after processing; PA1 (4) They do not diffuse from dyed layers to other layers; and PA1 (5) They are excellent in stability with time in solutions or photographic materials, and are not faded. PA1 (1) A silver halide photographic material comprising at least one compound represented by formula (1) ##STR2## wherein A represents an acidic nucleus; L.sup.1, L.sup.2 and L.sup.3 each represents a methine group; n represents 0 or 1; R.sup.3 represents an alkyl group containing a phosphonate as a substituent; and R.sup.2, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6 and R.sup.7 each represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group, a heterocyclic group, --OR.sup.11, --NR.sup.11 R.sup.12, --NHCOR.sup.11, --NHSO.sub.2 R.sup.11, --COOR.sup.11, --CONR.sup.11 R.sup.12, --SO.sub.2 NR.sup.11 R.sup.12, a cyano group or a halogen atom, wherein R.sup.11 and R.sup.12 each represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group or a heterocyclic group, and may combine together to form a 5- or 6-membered ring; PA1 (2) The silver halide photographic material of (1), wherein the compound represented by formula (1) is a compound represented by formula (2) ##STR3## wherein R.sup.1 represents a phenyl group substituted by a substituent having a dissociative proton; Z represents an oxygen atom or --NR.sup.14 --; R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6 and R.sup.7 each has the same meaning as given in formula (1); and R.sup.14 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an aryl group or a heterocyclic group; PA1 (3) The silver halide photographic material of (1), which comprises a hydrophilic colloidal layer containing at least one compound represented by formula (1) as an oil composition and/or a polymer composition; and PA1 (4) The silver halide photographic material of (3), which is a silver halide color photographic material, wherein the hydrophilic colloidal layer is a yellow filter layer.
In particular, when the colored layer is the filter layer, or the antihalation layer located on the same side of the support as the photographic emulsion layer, this layer is required to be selectively colored and to exert no substantial coloring on other layers in many cases. If is not so, not only the harmful spectral effect is exerted on the other layers, but also the effect of the filter layer or the antihalation layer itself is decreased. However, when dye-containing layers come in contact with other hydrophilic layers in a wet state, partial dye diffusion from the former to the latter frequently takes place. In order to prevent such dye diffusion, many efforts have previously been made.
Dyes for attaining the above-described object, in each of which an acidic nucleus is linked to a 5-membered heterocyclic ring by a methine chain, are described in JP-A-54-118247 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"), JP-A-55-155351, JP-A-62-242933, JP-A-1-196040, JP-A-1-196041, JP-A-2-165135, JP-A-2-168250, JP-A-3-144438, JP-A-3-167546, JP-B-60-662 (the term "JP-B" as used herein means an "examined Japanese patent publication"), JP-B-48-42175, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,622,980 and 3,441,563.
The dyes described in the above-mentioned patents are mainly intended to be added to photographic materials in the form of water-soluble compounds or fine solid particle dispersions, and are difficult to be added to the photographic materials in the form of oil compositions or polymer compositions.
For example, when the compound described in JP-A-3-167546 is added as an oil composition, the solubility of the dye in the oil is too low to obtain a desired optical density, and the rough surface is generated.
In particular, when dyes are used in filter layers which require sharp absorption, it is desirable that they are added as oil compositions or polymer compositions to photographic materials. When the dyes are added as fine solid particle dispersions to the photographic materials, it is difficult to control the absorption wavelength and the waveform.
On the other hand, methine compounds having isoxazolone nuclei and indole nuclei are described in Angew. Chem., 90, 643 (1978). However, only the use thereof as synthetic intermediates is described therein. Further, the use of compounds having isoxazolone nuclei and pyrrole nuclei (or indole nuclei) as dyes for photography is described in JP-A-4-362634.
Furthermore, methine compounds having pyrazolone nuclei and indole nuclei are described in JP-A-3-192157 (corresponding to EP 0434026) and JP-A-5-86056 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,344).
However, the use of these compounds has inevitably raised the problems that the compounds precipitate from dispersions in which the compounds are dispersed by emulsification to deteriorate the surface state in coating, and that an increase in the amount of oils or polymers causes the lowered strength of coated films and increased stains after processing, because of their insufficient solubility in the oils or the polymers.